The Fairest Rose of Them All
by chalantness
Summary: "Scorpius, Scorpius, wherefore art thou Scorpius?/ Deny thy father and refuse thy name,/ Or, if thou wilt not, but be sworn my love,/ And I'll no longer be a Gryffindor."


**Dedication.** Yet another one for my dear Slytherin-sis. Surprise, Annie (a.k.a. xxPOTTERLUVAHxx)! I wrote you a second Rose x Scorpius fic! You love me, don't you? :D

**Characters/Pairings.** Rose Weasley x Scorpius Malfoy

Disclaimer: the Harry Potter series © J.K. Rowling.

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**The Fairest Rose of Them All**

By sakuracherishchan814

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"'Two households, both alike in dignity,/ In fair Hogwarts where we lay our scene./ From forth the fatal loins of these two foes,/ A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life.'"

Rose Weasley looked up at the voice, whipping her head around. She was sure she'd picked the corner of the library that was completely empty. And, as she looked around, it _was_, until she saw _him_ standing there. Scorpius Malfoy. He leant against the shelf of books halfway across the room from the table she sat at, a book in one hand and his eyes locked on hers, a smirk on his lips.

"Scorpius," she scolded, pressing her hand to her rapidly beating heart. "Don't scare me like that!"

He chuckled. "Come, now, Weaslette, I wasn't even trying to scare you," he said innocently.

She glared. "You know what I mean."

He laughed again, pushing off of the bookshelf and casually walking to her table, tossing the book in front of her.

It was a paperback copy of _Romeo & Juliet_.

She arched an eyebrow at the book, then at Scorpius. "You read Shakespeare?"

"You sound surprised," he stated as he sat himself in the chair opposite of her, and she set down her own book of magical herbs.

"I didn't think you read anything muggle-written," Rose informed in a matter-of-factly tone of voice, though inside she was still marveling at this revelation.

"William Shakespeare was one of the greatest muggle playwrights in history," he reminded. "That, _and_ my mum reads him, so my father can't say anything of it."

"I never took you for the old-romantic type," she admitted.

He shrugged. "Everyone loves a good tragedy, don't they? Surely _you've_ read this classic."

"Of course," she said semi-defensively.

"Easy, Lioness," he chuckled, sensing her defensiveness, "I didn't mean anything offensively."

She huffed and returned to her book, though she found herself incapable of paying attention to the text anymore with Scorpius sitting there.

He reached over and grabbed some of her deep scarlet locks in his fingertips, and she had to restrain herself from pulling away. She tried ignoring him, staring at the list of herbs and their effects as if they were the most interesting things in the world. She reread the same lines repeatedly in her mind, not processing them at all. She was absolutely positive she felt the blood rising to her cheeks.

"'O, she doth teach the torches to burn bright!'" he exclaimed softly. She could practically _hear_ him smirking.

She nearly slammed her book down, more out of embarrassment than anger. "Scorpius!" she hissed. "Stop that!"

"If you knew Shakespeare well enough, you'd know it was a compliment," he shrugged, still not letting go of her hair.

"I _know_ that, but I also know _you_ well enough to know it wasn't _meant_ as a compliment!" she retorted.

He chuckled again, though there was less amusement in his tone. "Do you?"

This threw her off.

What did he mean by that? And what was with that tone?

"Open your eyes a little more, Weaslette, and then we can get some of this figured out."

Figured out? What in bloody hell was he going on about?

But before she could ask, he was already out of his seat with _Romeo & Juliet_ in hand.

"Wait, Scorpius!" she called out.

He paused, turning to face her. He waited for her to speak, though she couldn't get the words out.

Then he smirked again. "'Tempt not a desperate man,'" he recited, nodding slightly at her before rounding the aisle and disappearing.

Rose groaned, rubbing her temples. Scorpius always managed to give her some of her worst headaches.

"Something wrong, Ro?" a voice asked.

She opened one eye and saw Hugo and Albus come up to her table. In the back of her mind, she wondered if they were the reason Scorpius had left so quickly…

"Did that Malfoy git do something to you?" Hugo growled.

Rose ignored Hugo and turned to Albus as he rubbed her back soothingly. "Headache," she sighed.

"Malfoy gave you a headache?" Albus asked, arching an eyebrow.

"No. Well, yes, but no," she corrected. "Well, let's just say he didn't purposefully give me the headache."

_Stupid Scorpius_.

* * *

"A rose for the fairest Rose of them all?" a voice teased.

She groaned, looking up from where she was seated on the staircase that led to the main corridors, doodling on a piece of parchment attached to a clipboard she;d placed in her lap. A flash of red was the only thing she saw before she instinctively reached up and caught whatever had been tossed at her—a red rose. She eyed the rose, looking up and having a strong sense of déjà vu as Scorpius was walking in her direction again, his hands casually in his pockets. She sighed, twirling the rose between her fingertips and tilting her head slightly as he approached.

"What do you want from me _now_, Scorpius?" she questioned, and the look she gave him was one of suspicion.

"Ah, so the Lioness is a cold-hearted one, I see," he smirked. "And conceited. What makes you think I want something from _you?_"

She rolled her eyes. "Well, if you _don't_ want anything from me, I think I'll take my leave."

Just as she was about to grab her stuff from her lap, his hand stopper hers, and she whipped her head up to look at him. He knelt on one knee two steps below from where she sat, leaning towards her so that his body dangerously close. She sucked in a shallow breath, overwhelmed by the situation. What in Merlin's name was this boy doing!

"'But, soft! What light through yonder window breaks,'" he quoted, and Rose stared at him, completely awestruck. "'It is the east, and _Rose_ is the sun./ Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon,/ Who is already sick and pail with grief,/ That thou her maid art far more fair than she.'"

She was tempted to yell at him, and ask him if he was completely mental, but words failed her for a second time that day.

He reached up to caress her cheek with his other hand, but she used her free hand to swat it away, dropping the rose in the process.

She pressed the palm of her hand to her cheek and suddenly felt self-conscious. Her skin was practically on fire.

"'See, how she leans her cheek upon her hand!/ O, that I were a glove upon that hand,/ That I might touch that fair cheek!'"

As two third-year Ravenclaws passed by them to ascend the staircase, they turned to watch and giggled giddily, whispering animatedly as they left.

Scorpius's lip quivered into his usual smirk, and Rose finally got his intentions.

"Very funny, Scorpius," she muttered.

"'She speaks; O speak again, bright angel! For thou art/ As glorious to this night, being o'er my head,/ As is a winged messenger of heaven,/ Unto the white-upturned wondering eyes,/ Of muggles that fall back to gaze on him,/ When he bestrides the lazy-pacing clouds,/ And sails upon the bosom of the air.'"

Rose couldn't fight the smile that played on her lips. Well _two_ could play at this game!

She stood up abruptly, yanking her hand from his and taking a couple steps backwards. Dramatically, she placed her hand over her heart and smirked down at him.

"'Scorpius, Scorpius, wherefore art thou _Scorpius?_'/ Deny thy father and refuse thy name,/ Or, if thou wilt not, but be sworn my love,/ And I'll no longer be a Gryffindor.'"

She took a few more steps upward, running her hand along the cool stone wall as she did so, keeping her eyes locked with his.

"''Tis is but the name that is my enemy;/ Thou art thyself, but not a Slytherin./ What is a Slythern? It is nor hand, nor foot/ Nor arm, nor face, nor any part/ Belonging to man. O, be some other name!/ What's in a name? That which we call a rose/ By any other name would smell as sweet?'" She stepped down until she was, once again, two steps from where he stood, eye-level with him. "'So Scorpius would, were he not Scorpius called,/ Retain that dear perfection which he owes/ Without that title. Scorpius, doff thy name,/ And for that name which is no part of thee/ Take all myself.'"

He smirked back at her. "Well played, Weaslette," he complimented, sounding thoroughly amused.

"I don't let anyone make a fool of me," she informed, scooping her clipboard and quill into her arms. "_You_ should remember that."

But as she turned to leave, he grabbed her elbow and stopped her.

"'O, wilt thou leave me so unsatisfied?'" he asked.

"'What satisfaction canst thou have to-night?'"

"'The exchange of thy love's faithful vow for mine.'"

And then he gave her a strange look, or at least it was strange and foreign upon _his _face. It looked like one of longing, of questioning, and of…of…affection? _No! That's impossible_, Rose thought to herself. She wanted to believe maybe she was making things up in the mood of the scene, but the way those eyes of his bore into her face felt more than a mere act.

Her eyebrows furrowed, and she looked warily into his face for any signs of a reaction as she recited softly, "'I gave thee mine before thou didst request it.'"

He took a step up, his face moving even closer. His breath was warm, sending her mind into a thick haze. "'Wouldst thou withdraw it? For what purpose, love?'"

She gulped. Hard.

"'But to be frank, and give it thee again./ And yet I wish but for the thing I have.'" He took another step, his face inches apart. Her voice dropped to a faint whisper. "'My bounty is as boundless as the sea,/ My love as deep; the more I give to thee,'"—he was so close, she could see the detail in his silvery-gray eyes; could count every one of his long eyelashes—"'the more I have, for both are infinite.'"

And then she felt his lips on hers, kissing her tenderly and hungrily, as if he'd been waiting for it for Merlin knows how long.

Her mind raced, barely able to fully register anything at the moment, let alone the fact she found herself tracing her tongue across his lips and closing her eyes.

She felt his hand let go of her wrist, and a few seconds later he placed both of his hands on either sides of her face, holding her fiercely but delicately. He held her close to him, as if not wanting to ever let go, but his touch was also hesitant, as if he feared she could shatter beneath him. She found herself kissing him back, parting her lips more to give him better access. He had the strangest taste, like sour apples, and she her taste buds wanted more of it.

"Miss Weasley! Mister Malfoy!" the voice of a professor neither could recognize at the moment interrupted.

They froze, parting their lips, but other than that not moving a muscle.

"You should hurry along to your dorms before you break curfew!" she warned, the voice echoing from above and all around them.

Rose heard other murmurs as well – ones of hushed chatter and whispers – and she wondered how many people were watching from the staircases above.

Scorpius murmured something very low under his breath that it sounded unintelligible, and he lowered his head as he drew back, descending a few steps to recreate space between them. Rose suddenly felt very chilly, biting her lower lip but not daring to part her eyes and look at Scorpius. She hugged her clipboard and quill tighter to her chest and turned around, ascending the stairs and rounding the corner, leaving Scorpius standing there.

* * *

Rose ran her fingers through her hair, not even pretending to be reading the book she had opened in her lap as she stared into the flames of the common room's fireplace. Even though everyone acted casually around her, mingling and laughing and fooling around as always, she knew they were all watching her warily, alert of her every move and sigh. She hadn't seen Hugo or Albus since Hugo had snapped at her arse about snogging Malfoy and stomped upstairs into the boys' dorms, and everyone but Lily seemed to be either avoiding her or just giving her space (though she doubted it was the latter.)

Lily sat beside her on the couch, appearing to be scribbling down onto a parchment, though Rose knew she was keeping a careful watch on her.

"Do you think I was dense for letting Scorpius in like that?" Rose asked softly.

Lily looked up instantly. "No, of course not, Rose, don't be daft."

Rose just chuckled humorlessly, shaking her head. "You're incredibly tolerant of this, Lil."

"As I should be," she reminded. "You didn't deserve to be chewed out like that; I don't care what was running through Hugo's head…"

"But maybe I did," Rose said more to herself. "I mean, _Merlin_, what was I thinking? Scorpius Malfoy? A pure-blood Slytherin, nonetheless – one of the very things my grandfather despises. My father warned me _specifically _about him from Day One. Did I really think there was any hope in making it work?"

"You love him enough to have taken the chance, didn't you?"

"I was _blind_ enough to have taken the chance," she corrected.

"So do you regret it?"

Rose paused, looking over at Lily rather incredulously. "What?" she whispered.

"Do you regret it?" Lily repeated. "Kissing Scorpius?"

"N…No, of course not," she answered hesitantly, surprising herself at how true her words rang.

Lily smiled. "'These violent delights have violent ends,/ And in their triumph die, like fire and powder,/ Which as they kiss consume.'"

"Lil, stop that. _Romeo & Juliet_ ended in tragedy – you're not helping."

She shrugged. "Perhaps you two just need to write a better ending."

* * *

"'My only love sprung from my only hate;/ too early unknown and known too late.'"

Scorpius cracked one eye open, looking up from where he was lying on the grass soaking in the sun, semi-hidden amongst the bushes near the courtyard. Rose stood hovering above him, angling her head to look down at him, causing her deep scarlet curls to cascade off of her shoulders and frame her face. "Rose," he said, slight surprise in his tone as he sat himself up. You couldn't necessarily blame him for feeling both surprised and suspicious – they hadn't spoken in about a week since they'd made out in front of (what at least _felt_ like) the whole school.

She knelt down beside him, tucking her bangs behind her ear and looking nervously at anywhere _but_ him.

"I wanted to apologize," she finally got out.

His eyebrows rose rather quizzically up his forehead. "For what?"

"I didn't mean to avoid you," she explained. "It's just that…I really needed to sort my thoughts out, and seeing you everywhere wasn't really helping me focus."

He remained silent for a moment before looking away and exhaling a sigh. "And, what did you come up with, exactly?"

"Well, I'm not entirely sure," she admitted. "I'm just going on intuition."

"And intuition has told you to…"

She placed her hand on his cheek, turning his head to face her again, and pressed her lips softly to his.

It was brief, but it still created the same sparks she'd felt from their first kiss.

She drew back, not dropping her hand. "To go for it," she replied, and then she giggled. "Well, those were Lily's words…but Lily tends to be my voice of reason."

A smile formed on his lips – not a smirk, a genuine smile (which caused butterflies to flutter violently in her stomach). "I'll have to thank Lily one of these days."

"I'm sure she'll be glad to hear that," Rose beamed.

He kissed her temple, his lips lingering a few more seconds than necessary.

"Would my fair maiden fancy some breakfast?"

"You bet."

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**A/n.** A very fluffy ending, so hopefully I didn't completely ruin this couple for you.

Anyway, we're reading _Romeo & Juliet_ and watching the movies for English class so I'm kind of trapped in the era of Shakespeare until the school year ends. So, instead of letting it drive me crazy, I utilized Shakespeare to write this fun little fic. Obviously the order of some quotes was rearranged to fit the story, and some words were substituted to fit Rose and Scorpius's world, but I wrote this _for fun!_

_So you read it. Love it? Hate it? Please review it!_


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